The Beginning of Someone New
by AznTigress
Summary: A story of how Cloud came to be the person he was at the beginning of Final Fantasy VII. -Oneshot-


**A/N:** This is based on the original Final Fantasy VII cutscene, not the Crisis Core retelling. I'll use a little bit of stuff from Crisis Core, but for the most part it's 98% Final Fantasy VII.

* * *

**The Beginning of Someone New**

"Cloud, let's go!"

Cloud could feel strong arms lift him up off the truck he had been sitting in for the past 3 hours. He could neither move nor respond to the person talking to him as his Mako-poisoned mind muddled his ability to control his body. He could hear gunshots far behind him and steadily sounding closer and closer as he moved.

Cloud could tell that his weight was wearing down the person who was struggling to trudge towards their final destination. He could feel the heavy huffing and puffing of his savior as the man tries to support him with his arms.

"We're almost there… Just a little further…"

If Cloud could respond in some way, there was only one thing he wanted to say: "Let me go and save yourself! You're going to die at this rate!!" But knowing his savior as well as he did, there was no way that man would ever let him go. They were more than just best friends and military comrades. They were brothers in arms brought together by twist of fate. And it was by another twist of fate that they were thrust into the undesirable situation they were in right now.

At least Cloud was able to see his mother one last time. At least he was able to see his hometown again. At least he was able to see his childhood friend again. But not this person; not the one risking life and limb to get both himself and Cloud to Midgar. That person couldn't get to see his parents; he didn't get to meet any childhood friends; he didn't even get to see the house he was born and grew up in one last time. And yet he pushes himself onward, past the limits of his body and soul. Just to see one person, the one woman who wanted nothing more than to spend more time with him.

With his emotions and thoughts trapped within his comatose mind, Cloud screamed and cried inwardly in frustration. He knew deep down that they weren't both going to make it. At this stage in the game, his chances for survival were slim. His parents, his childhood friend, his hometown… they were all gone forever. There was nothing left for him to live for.

But this man, this First Class SOLDIER by his side… He still has something to live for, someone to go back to. And more than anything, Cloud wanted to see to it that the man makes it back to that someone.

_Let me go! Please, let me go! You can't keep going on like this! You have someone to go to, don't you? You have to get to her however you can! She's waiting for you! Please! LET ME GO!!_

Cloud's unspoken words were left as just thoughts that would never be heard. Inwardly, he curses to himself, struggling to do all he could to communicate to the clueless man who was carrying him.

The barrage of bullets behind them was getting louder. It sounded like their pursuers were about 100 meters behind them, if not closer.

_C'mon body! MOVE, DAMN IT!!_

Just then, Cloud could feel a finger twitch.

_YES!_

He could feel himself very slowly gaining control of his body again. The effects of the Mako-poisoning were starting to wear off after all these months. Cloud only wished it had worn off much sooner.

Suddenly, he felt his body been lowered to the ground. Once down, he heard the scraping of a large metallic object and almost immediately he knew what was happening. The gunshots were very loud now so running away from a fight was no longer possible anymore.

"Sit tight, Cloud. I'll be right back."

_Zack, no! You're not at your full strength! You can't take them! Don't do it, please! Leave me and run!!_

The only response Cloud got was the sound of metal scraping along metal with some occasional slashing through armor and flesh. His friend was taking on an army of Shin-Ra soldiers all by himself and there wasn't anything he could do about it. Struggling with his mind once again, Cloud tries as hard as he could to regain control over more of his body. If he couldn't get his friend to run away, at the very least he won't let him fight alone.

He could feel more of his fingers moving. Then his right hand. Slowly, he could feel more of his right arm getting under control, although centimeter by centimeter.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"CLOUD!! RUN!!"

BANG!

Cloud could see the boots of his friend stumbling as another bullet ripped through the man's body. Everything went in slow motion as he saw Zack, a First Class SOLDIER, fall to the ground.

_NOOOOO!!!!_

A flurry of footsteps rush up past Cloud as he watches three Shin-Ra troopers surround the downed body of his best friend. Merciless and without remorse, they began shooting the man, blood gushing out with each bullet that entered the weakened warrior.

_S-STOP!! STOP IT!!! STOP SHOOTING HIM!! TAKE ME INSTEAD!!!_

Cloud wanted to turn away and divert his eyes from the horrific sight before him, but he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, his Mako-poisoned mind still didn't give up control over his still comatose head. He could only lie and watch as the Shin-Ra troopers laid waste to his best friend. It was as if someone was forcing him to watch this whole thing in order to torment him and further mock his inability to do anything. With each gunshot, Cloud felt his own heart and soul break and tear little by little.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Shin-Ra infantrymen finally stopped their senseless slaughter. Ensuring that their target was dead, they proceed to head back when one of them stops near Cloud.

"Hey, what about this one?"

"Leave him. He's as good as dead anyhow."

_Good as dead? __I wish I was._

Cloud continues to reclaim control over more of his body as the soldiers went away. Once they were gone, he had managed to gain back enough of the motor functions on his upper body to drag himself with his arms. As a tear slowly slid down his still emotionless face, Cloud forces himself towards Zack's battered and bloody remains. Ignoring all reasonable thought, he keeps convincing himself that it wasn't possible for the First Class SOLDIER to die. At his peak, his friend could take on an army of Shin-Ra infantrymen and captains; he could fight monsters twice his size, maybe bigger; he could do anything.

And most of all, he wasn't Cloud.

_Please… Don't let it be true…_

Reaching Zack's body, Cloud manages to sit himself up and looks over the lifeless man.

"zzZ….. zzzZ..…zzZa… zZa…?"

Cloud stutters incoherently as his vocal cords began functioning normally once again. He sees the Buster Sword nearby where Zack had dropped it when he stumbled to the ground. With one hand, Cloud reaches over and pulls the huge weapon towards him as if to return it back to its rightful owner.

"Za… Za…..Zack? …Zack?" he says quietly, the soft whine in his tone begging for a response. He grips the handle of the sword anxiously, hoping against all hope for his friend to get up.

But nothing happens. The SOLDIER member simply laid there as if in a deep slumber, the web of blood oozing in small streams all over his body. Cloud calls to his friend again and again, but he could not stir the man awake. Rain began to lightly fall over them as Cloud slowly came to realize that his best friend was never opening his eyes ever again.

Lifting his head towards the sky, the rain came down stronger and mixes in with the tears that were now pouring down his anguish face. He looks over the cliff where they were, the sight of Midgar standing in the midst of a barren landscape down in the plains below. They had come so far from Nibelheim, their prison for five long years. They had come so close to Midgar, the place where Zack was going to see his special someone, the place where he and Cloud were supposed to start their mercenary business, the place where they were supposed to start a new life. But that dream had faded away. All their blood, sweat, tears, and months of running from Shin-Ra had been all for naught. In the end, his best friend was the one to pay the ultimate price. Knowing all this, Cloud finally did what he couldn't do until now.

He opens his mouth and lets out a loud and mournful cry.

All of the emotion he couldn't express during their journey, all the times he wanted to say something but couldn't, all of it came pouring out in droves that overwhelmed him with utter sadness and sorrow. All at once, the memories he had of his best friend flashes across his mind's eye.

_Hey, what's so funny about that? You know Gongaga?_

_So you want to be in SOLDIER, huh? Do your best!_

_Hey, Cloud. Are you okay?_

_Oh here. Put this on. It smells a little though; don't complain._

_I got a place I can crash for a while... No wait, the mother lives there, too... Guess that's out…_

_We're friends, right? Mercenaries, Cloud. That's what you and me are gonna be. Understand, Cloud?_

* * *

Slowly and steadily, Cloud trudges onward to Midgar, the rain still falling as he went. He had buried Zack as best as he could and promised him that he would live on for the both of them. Secured firmly on his back was the Buster Sword, the only thing left of his best friend and undeniable proof that he existed. It was to be a lasting memento of the late First Class SOLDIER.

Cloud loses his footing for a moment and then continues on walking. The Mako-poisoning still hasn't worn off completely yet. It was a miracle he's still able to function to this extent. Never having made it into SOLDIER, Cloud wasn't sure what to make of this. He knew all members of SOLDIER were treated with Mako in order to enhance their abilities, giving them their trademark Mako-glowing eyes. If there were any side effects to the treatment, he wouldn't know.

_SOLDIER_

Cloud shakes his head. He could feel his memories were being messed up. Could this be the effect of Mako-poisoning? He takes a deep breath and tries to remember how he became an infantryman for Shin-Ra.

_My name is Cloud __Strife. I'm a First Class SOLDIER, just like the great hero Sephiroth._

Cloud clutches his head with a hand as a loud whining sound overtook his mind.

_I got this Buster Sword because I'm so strong. I also have glowing Mako eyes, a SOLDIER trademark._

Cloud groans as his memories were further muddled with that of someone else.

_Five years ago, Sephiroth burned down Nibelheim. I fought him and killed him._

Before Cloud knew what had transpired, he found himself in the slums. Scanning the area around him, he sees a train station and walks over to it as if drawn to it by some unknown force.

_But I'm not a member of SOLDIER anymore. I'm a mercenary for hire._

_No matter what I do, I need some money first..._

Cloud collapses near the train station as he suddenly feels his strength leaving him. It felt like some strange power that pushed him towards Midgar finally got him to where it wanted him to be and left. And as if to confirm that feeling, Cloud sees someone approaching him. Craning his head upwards, he could discern the figure of a woman who seems familiar but not all at once.

"Cloud?"

He thought he was talking to himself, but soon realizes that the woman was the one who spoke. He watches her bend over a little, looking him over with curiosity.

"Cloud? Is that really you?"

_This woman…__ I… know her…_

"T… Ti…fa…?" he utters weakly.

"Cloud, it really _is_ you!" exclaims Tifa, bending down to Cloud's level. Almost instantly, the look of excitement on her face changed to that of worry and concern. "Cloud! What happened to you?"

Wrapping his arms around her, Tifa lifts her friend up to his feet. She then lays one of his arms over her neck while she wraps one of her arms around his lower back.

"Don't worry, I know where you can get help," she assures with a smile. Cloud could sense her heart pumping ecstatically as they walked through the slums. "What are the chances of us meeting here of all places?"

As she continues to talk, Cloud notices a white feather floating by. He thinks nothing much of it and turns his attention back to his friend.

_Goodnight… Zack…_

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**A/N:** Yes, in the Final Fantasy VII cutscene of their escape, Zack never got a chance to say any last words to Cloud before he died aside from his one-sided conversation in their truck ride. I like Crisis Core, but I still prefer the original version of the story as it is much more realistic and therefore sadder than the Crisis Core version.


End file.
